Eight Not Looking as If It’s Enough

Six weeks ago, when Angel pitcher Chuck Finley was struggling with a 3-6 record and 5.71 earned-run average and throwing like a timid rookie instead of a 12-year veteran, Manager Terry Collins sat him down for a little chat.

“He was real upset with the way he was going,” Collins said, “so I asked him, ‘How many starts do you have left this season?’ He said about 15, and I told him if he won 13 of those 15 it will be a pretty darn good year.”

But what if he won all 15? What kind of year would it be then? Finley is more than halfway toward finding that out after Sunday night’s 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox before 25,041 in Anaheim Stadium.

Finley, taking advantage of twilight conditions in the 5 p.m. game, gave up one run on five hits in eight innings and struck out four for his eighth consecutive victory, improving to 11-6 with a 4.24 ERA and helping the first- place Angels remain a half-game ahead of Seattle atop the American League West.

Closer Troy Percival, further distancing himself from the problems that hindered him on the last trip, struck out Frank Thomas, Albert Belle and Dave Martinez in the ninth for his 16th save.

The offense was provided by Tim Salmon and Dave Hollins, who each homered, and shortstop Gary DiSarcina and second baseman Luis Alicea, who each had RBI hits for the Angels, who have won 21 of their last 27.

But as he has been just about every time he has taken the mound since July 1, Finley was the story.

“I don’t know what else to say about Chuck,” Collins said. “I see why this organization said they’re going to keep this guy around, why he breaks the records of some great pitchers. He’s a horse, no doubt. He’s aggressive, poised, he has great makeup, he never makes excuses. He’s fun to have around and he’s pitching absolutely brilliantly right now.”

Finley wasn’t as dominant Sunday as he has been in some starts during the streak, such as when he struck out 13 against Seattle July 6. But he threw a lot of first-pitch strikes, worked both halves of the plate and had batters lunging for his forkball.

The left-hander, who was backed by two double plays and DiSarcina’s superb diving catch of Ron Karkovice’s looper to shallow left, has also benefited from visualization techniques.

“I can see myself making pitches, I can see balls going to certain parts of the plate,” said Finley, who gave up a homer to Karkovice in the seventh inning. “I’m not second-guessing myself. I know exactly after one pitch where the next pitch is going to be. You just kind of zone in and go with it.”

Finley threw 102 pitches and probably could have pitched the ninth, but Collins wanted Percival, who notched his 15th save Saturday night, to pitch consecutive games.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen [today], but if we’re going to win, Troy is going to have to do it for us,” Collins said. “And the only way to find out was to run him out for the second straight day.”

Percival gave an emphatic answer, blowing fastballs by two of the game’s best hitters in one of his most dominant innings of the season.

Percival, who gave up a game-winning, three-run homer to Boston’s Mo Vaughn in the bottom of the ninth in Fenway Park July 26, was a bundle of nerves last Monday night in Cleveland, fidgeting with his glove and his hat and stalking around the mound as if he were mad at the world.

He walked three, made a wild pitch and was so erratic that Collins had to yank him for left-hander Mike Holtz, who recorded the last out in the Angels’ 10-7 victory. Percival’s two problems: fatigue and caffeine.

“I was really uptight and wired,” Percival said. “I had eight or 10 cups of coffee during the game and that was too much. I cut that back and stopped trying to throw every pitch 110 mph. I actually throw harder when I’m more relaxed and let my mechanics do the work.”